Poverty exists. Poverty hurts us all. We can do something about it. This is the key message of this year’s Anti- Poverty week 2020.
During Anti-Poverty Week, Vinnies aims to highlight how poverty puts people under pressure, and when this builds, it can lead to homelessness. Poverty in Australia is about people not having enough money – that is an income to be able to live on day to day as well as no savings or accrued wealth.
According to the Western Australian Council of Social Service (WACOSS) 2019 Cost of Living Report, over 45% of people’s expenditure in their households goes towards housing costs. The COVID-19 crisis added another layer of compilation to people already experiencing financial stress.
Poverty affects many adults and children and can be constant and overwhelming. Their chances of poverty and homelessness increases when families are trying to juggle their finances such as mortgage or rent payments, or even skipping meals to pay bills.
From April till June this year, Vinnies WA had given out more than $1 million dollars worth of assistance to Western Australians in the form of food relief and support to pay bills. The reality of the impact of the crisis was truly seen as 30% of those people experiencing hardship, had reached out to Vinnies for the first time.
At Vinnies we believe that Anti-Poverty Week has the opportunity to raise awareness of the causes and consequences of poverty and to encourage discussion, research and action to help reduce the number of people living below the poverty line.
If you know someone that needs assistance or want to learn more about Vinnies advocacy and services such as our Emergency Assistance, Financial Counselling or the National Debt Helpline then visit https://www.vinnieswa.org.au/
For more information on Anti-Poverty Week visit https://antipovertyweek.org.au/